


Baby Catcher

by Jengis_Morrangis



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, Medical Emergency, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:00:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25499482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jengis_Morrangis/pseuds/Jengis_Morrangis
Summary: Cassie has a long day.
Relationships: Dipper Pines/Mabel Pines
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Baby Catcher

**Author's Note:**

> There's a commissioned artwork to go with this story that you can find on my tumblr here: 
> 
> https://jengis-morrangis.tumblr.com/post/625135271342718976/a-commission-by-the-talented-miundy-foxy-teen

The sharp noise of an alarm clock pierced the morning silence, repeating three times before being tapped off. Cassie was already awake. She had woken up five minutes before her alarm clock went off, but decided to grant herself a few extra minutes of laziness before she started her day.

She took a deep intake of breath through her nose before jumping up out of bed. She quickly rushed through her morning routine and went through a mental checklist to prepare for the day. She was sure to be quiet as she got ready since the rest of her family was still asleep. The sun hadn’t even risen by the time she was out the door. 

Saddling her bike, she clipped her helmet on and began her trip to the Trenton fire department.

She had been volunteering as a firefighter since the moment she turned sixteen several months ago. Her parents were initially skeptical, but after seeing just how passionate she was about it, they were fully supportive of her. She was volunteering as a firefighter, but was also trained in basic life saving, so she could operate with medical teams in an ambulance, should the need arise.

She knew the experience she was getting now would open up a lot of doors for her later on. Once she graduated highschool she planned on moving out to Oregon and working as a wildland firefighter, making regular visits to Gravity Falls anytime she wanted. It was an absolute dream!

Cassie was enrolled in a dual enrollment program that allowed her to attend community college at no cost and receive both high school and college credits for her classes. She wasn’t a fantastic student, but she was a hard worker. Anything she found herself lacking in, she would fight tooth and nail to catch up. That aside, she was pretty good about not getting overwhelmed by the classes. On her current track, she expected to graduate high school with an associates degree. 

School often bored her, except for history, which she found a natural interest in. Much of it really seemed like busywork to her, but she understood that it still needed to be done.

Her parents valued academics very highly, and were apprehensive about her adventuring after highschool, instead urging her to at least complete her studies first. 

Sure, she still had other dreams and aspirations for things she wanted to accomplish later on, such as getting her degree, she assured them. There will be plenty of time for her to go to college and study for whatever job she wants later. But right now she is young, and craving adventure!

Locking her bike outside the rescue station, Cassie walked to the front door where she was greeted by the night staff who buzzed her in. 

She put away her bag and personal belongings before going to the garage to start on the equipment check while the rest of the morning crew arrived. She opened the door to one of the ambulances to find a man in a navy blue uniform facing away from her as he dug through a duffle bag of supplies. 

“Hey McCleskey.” She greeted.

The man jumped at her intrusion and bumped his head on a low hanging cabinet. “Ow, damn!” He cursed and brought a hand to the back of his head to rub the point of impact. 

“Hey Killer Cassie!” He said cheerfully as he turned around to face her. “I started on the equipment check already. Ready to take on the day?” 

“You bet!” Cassie responded with panache. 

McCleskey chuckled. He took off his cap and ran a hand through his graying hair. “Heh. Jeez Cass. I never met someone your age willing to wake up this early on a saturday to do such a shitty job without pay.”

Cassie blew a raspberry. “What are you talkin’ bout? I love this job!”

McCleskey Chuckled. “Oh sweet summer child. Just wait until you’re scaping puke off the walls.” 

“Oh please, I’ve cleaned up puke plenty of times!”

“No, I know. But there's a quantifiable amount of puke you have to clean up before you start to get really fed up with it. You’ll get there someday.” Cassie giggled at that. McCleskey smiled. “Alright now. Best be gettin’ about yer duties.” He said in a pirate accent.

“Aye aye, cap’n.” Cassie said as she saluted him.

“Oh almost forgot… “ McCleskey said as he pointed to a box on the small counter. “The AED is out of battery. Mind fetching me a fresh one?”

“Can do.” Cassie said as she walked off in search of a battery.

The rest of the morning crew had arrived by the time they finished the equipment and function check. After they took attendance and relieved the night crew, they sat around and waited.

This was the part of the job Cassie wasn’t too fond of. Sitting around and waiting for something to happen. Sometimes they would go an entire shift with nothing happening. When they did get calls, many of them turned out to be nothing. Someone thinking they ingested poison really just had an upset stomach. When they got a call for a building fire, it was really just a bag of popcorn that someone overcooked. 

When they did get a good call, Cassie was reminded of why she loved it. She loved the thrill she got when she brought a man back from cardiac arrest with a defibrillator. Or the time she put out a roaring fire when a car had crashed into a fuel pump at a gas station.

Until the time came for a call, however, she would be stuck waiting in the lounge area, watching the clock tick.

Thankfully she had plenty of schoolwork to fill her time. 

She was so focused on her work that she didn’t realize an hour had passed before they got their first call. The tone blared and the red lights on the ceiling lit up. Cassie felt her adrenalin start to key up as she grabbed her jacket and sprinted to the ambulance alongside McCleskey.

“What’ve we got?” Asked Cassie.

“OB call. ALS is already on scene.”

Obstetrics call. Cassie had never responded to one of those. This was definitely gonna be a cool call.

They turned on their lights and sirens as they dashed down the street toward the address. Cars cleared the way, and Cassie could feel herself getting more excited as she fidgeted in her seat.

Once they arrived at a large apartment complex, she got the go-bag out of the back and hurried inside alongside McCleskey. They rode the elevators up and walked down the hall to the room they were told, and were greeted by a paramedic already inside. 

McCleskey spoke with the paramedic to catch up to speed on the situation while Cassie walked into the other room to find a young EMT next to a large pregnant woman lying on a bed. 

McCleskey and the paramedic entered the room. 

“So what’s the word? How can I help?”

“‘Help?’” The paramedic asked. “This is a BLS skill. You can do it yourself!” He said with a wide, almost sadistic grin.

The back of her neck went cold and the color drained from her face. She turned to McCleskey, looking for an answer. Hoping the paramedic was joking. 

“Don’t look at me.” McCleskey said with a smirk. “You need the experience. Now get your OB kit.”

A moment later, Cassie stood in the middle of the apartment in a full kit. Goggles, face mask, plastic apron and gloves. 

“Okay… okay I got this…” She whispered to herself as she inhaled deeply. 

It started off pretty easy. It was just like the textbooks she studied. But once the baby started to crown she could see the amniotic sac hadn't broken. She gently tore it apart with her fingers and immediately got splashed with a wave of fluid. She used her gloved thumb to wipe away a thick layer of liquid obstructing her vision as a shiver ran up her spine. Gross.

She is usually good with gross stuff but this is beyond gross. She was getting sprayed with blood and various fluids she couldn’t name, trying her best to stay focused all the while the mother writhed in pain. She communicated occasionally with the other medical professionals in the room as they assisted with various parts of the delivery, but for the most part she was entirely focused on her job. 

After several long hours, Cassie could tell the delivery was nearing its end. Once the baby's shoulders passed through, the rest quickly slid out easily, where Cassie was waiting to catch it with a towel. 

All she felt was excited, but the excitement from her adrenalin rush began to wear off when she realized something. The baby isn’t crying. The baby isn’t breathing. Her adrenalin keyed up a hundred times higher than it was before. Her mind went completely blank. Seconds stretched into hours as she waited for the baby to breathe. Part of her still had the sense to dig through her mind and remember what she was trained to do in this case. She pulled down her mask and took a slow, deep breath before forcefully blowing out onto the baby’s face. Suddenly the sound of crying filled the room and Cassie felt more relieved than she did in her entire life. 

Feeling relieved, she took a moment to look down at the baby in her arms. She realized with an odd amazement that she is the first person to ever hold this baby. Her mind continued to wander as she realized her parents were around her age when they had her. They had been through this entire crazy situation before and held her for the first time, just as she was now holding this baby. She could hardly fathom the amount of responsibility thrusted upon two people who were essentially still children. She knew that, were this her child in her arms, she would feel woefully unprepared.

”Pines!” She was suddenly snapped from her thoughts and remembered where she was. She looked around, suddenly self-conscious as she realized the whole room was staring at her.

“Sorry!” She said. With the help of the other’s, they wiped the baby down and cut the umbilical cord, making sure to check the baby’s airway wasn’t blocked by mucus. Once they were sure the baby was okay, they handed it to the mother, who was crying as she had been stabbed. And bleeding likewise.

They put the woman on a gurney and brought her downstairs to the ambulance, then transported her to the hospital. 

On the drive back to the station, Cassie was in shock. Her jaw hung open and she slumped back in her seat. She felt so dirty right now. Absolutely filthy. She wanted nothing more right now than to furiously scrub her entire top layer of skin off and submerge herself in a tub. 

“Heh…” Her thoughts were interrupted by a laugh, and she turned to see McCleskey softly chuckling as he drove. “Jeez, Cassie. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

She didn’t know how to respond to that. Really, she didn’t want to. She was far too tired. It was just past noon, yet Cassie felt like she had the life sucked out of her.

“You did a good job today, Cassie. You should be proud of that.” He said as he pulled into the station and shut off the engine. “You should wash up and change into a clean uniform. I’ll get one of the rookies to sub for you while you’re gone.”

“Thanks.” Cassie said genuinely, barely an exhausted whisper. Cassie always knew McCleskey was looking after her, for which she was grateful. She would have to pay him back sometime. But for now, she needed a shower.

===  
===

It was late at night when Cassie finally arrived home. All the lights were off and the house was dead quiet as she gently closed the door and hung up her rescue squad jacket. She took off her boots and placed them neatly by the floor next to the other shoes. 

She tiptoed through the foyer to stay silent, only to stub her toe on some unseen object and grunt in frustration. 

She had a brief moment of terror as she saw a large figure standing on the other side of the living room facing her. She quickly pulled back her arm and clenched a fist, ready to strike the figure, should it come any closer. Her fear quickly melted away as her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she realized it was her family sitting together on the couch. She breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her arm as her eyes adjusted further.

Her parents were leaning on each other, Mabel resting her head on Dipper’s shoulder as Connor sat between them, wrapped in a tight hug. Cassie gave a barely audible ‘aw’ at the endearing display before her. She pulled out her phone and made sure her flash was off before taking a picture. 

She admired the scene for a few moments longer before picking Connor up and carrying him upstairs, laying a blanket over their parents before she went.

She carefully laid him down in bed before tucking him in. 

She looked at Connor’s sleeping face, lightly brushing his hair with her fingers and just thinking about how much she loves this amazing kid. Though she felt very much at peace right now, part of her feels melancholy at the thought of him growing up. He won't always be the adorable little kid who loves running around in the rain during thunderstorms and playing in the mud. Building pillow forts with her when they got bored. She wouldn’t always be able to give him a piggyback ride or tuck him in and kiss him goodnight.

Cassie remembered the time he cut all the Marigolds from the pots hanging from the windows that she had been growing and made them into a pretty bouquet. She had been growing them for weeks, but for as frustrated as she was, it was such a sweet gesture and he was so excited to give them to her that she couldn’t bring herself to be mad. She was frustrated, and warned him not to do it again, but it was still cute.

Even for his young age, he could notice the small signs when she was upset. Sometimes she would come home from a long day of school or work. She didn’t want anyone to see her upset or frustrated, but Connor could tell. 

She would sit down on the couch or lay down in her bed, staring at the ceiling and silently stewing in her thoughts. Without a word, he would walk over to her and sit down next to her. He would wrap her in a big hug and nuzzle into her side. Every time, she would always feel a little bit better.

He’s always been such a sweet boy. And absolutely adorable. With a cute shyness that made her heart melt.

She was definitely excited for the future. Moving out to Oregon would be the adventure she’s been waiting for her entire life, but she’s so nervous about what she might miss. She may miss a birthday or two of her family, only able to call and briefly say hi. She would miss Connor starting school and watching him learn and make new friends. Cassie gasped— she may miss him losing his first baby teeth! Oh gosh, she thought, she couldn’t miss that.

But she had to. She wanted so much to explore. And if she really wanted to she couldn’t let these things get in her way.

She wiped a tear forming in her eye and stood to turn off the light. This wasn’t the time to be upset. Connor was right here in front of her. She should instead be spending that time with him.

It’s already been such a long day, and she was excited for tomorrow. Sunday’s are usually her day off to spend with family or friends. But she already knew this week she was going to be Connor in whatever shenanigans he may be up to.

She gave him a goodnight kiss on the forehead, turned off his bedside lamp and left to her room.

She planted her backpack down by her desk, retrieved her books from it and placed them on her desk. 

She took a deep breath and stretched her arms out before refocusing on the papers lying on her desk. She had better finish off this work if she wanted to spend tomorrow with Connor.


End file.
